ATLANTA — BREAKING: Tex McIver has been denied bond by Judge Robert C. I. McBurney.
He expressed primarily a concern that McIver would be a flight risk ahead of his murder case needing to be re-tried following the reversal by the Georgia Supreme Court on procedural grounds.
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Tex McIver, an Atlanta attorney, whose murder conviction was overturned in June, will appear before a judge for a bond hearing Friday.
Fulton County court records show Claud “Tex” McIver, 80, will appear before Judge Robert McBurney on Oct. 7. McIver's bond hearing on Friday will determine whether he will remain in custody or not as the Fulton County District Attorney's Office prepares to retry him.
Shortly after having his conviction overturned by the Supreme Court of Georgia, Mciver's attorney Don Samuel requested his client receive a bond setting up the hearing.
"I wouldn't be all surprised if Mr. Samuel - Don - says we will give him an ankle monitor just let him be out of the system," said Darryl Cohen, a former prosecutor turned defense attorney.
Cohen isn't involved with the McIver case but he has closely followed it. He said McIver being 80 years old, having no criminal history before his wife's death and the fact that McIver was released on bond before his first trial are all reasons he could receive bond Friday.
But while out on bond before his first trial, a gun and ammo were found in the bedroom closet of McIver's condo. It was a violation of his bond at the time and it led to McBurney revoking his bond back in 2017.
Cohen expects prosecutors to remind McBurney of that Friday and argue against McIver receiving bond this time.
"He is a risk to violate any term of the bond because he did it before and history tells us that you don't change a leopard's spots," Cohen said. "He violated it before and he will violate it again."
McIver was transferred to the Fulton County Jail in September when his new bond hearing was set. He was previously granted bond and was out of jail four years ago in advance of the trial.
He was later convicted in 2018 on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, influencing a witness and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the September 2016 death of 64-year-old Diane McIver. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed his convictions for felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony but affirmed his conviction for influencing a witness.
The court ruled that in the original trial for the 2016 death of McIver's wife, Diane McIver, the jury was not properly instructed to consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.
The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has filed a motion for a new trial in the case. Back in July, the DA's office said in a court filing they plan to retry McIver on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The motion asks that a trial be set within 180 days of when the trial court receives the Supreme Court's order, which is expected to happen soon.